Concern as patients in Kenya develop resistance to HIV drugs

NAIROBI: Concerns are heightening regarding HIV treatments losing their punch in the country as the deadly virus becomes more resistant.

Health experts are now worried that if the trend of resistance to Anti-Retroviral treatment among populations with HIV continues, saving and enhancing the quality of lives of millions of Kenyans with the virus could become impossible.

This comes as a new study by Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders), an international humanitarian NGO suggested that 50 per cent of Aids inpatients in Homa Bay District Hospital are failing their HIV treatment.

Among 690 patients (aged 13 and above) admitted between December 2014 and March 2015, half of patients with HIV failed their HIV treatment.

Persons with HIV accounted for more than a third of admissions and 55 per cent of deaths in the facility.

The Ministry of Health estimates that at least ten per cent of Kenyans could be having drug-resistant strains of the virus, although the numbers are thought to be far higher.

According to Kenya Medical Association National Chairperson, Dr Elly Nyaim, incidences of resistance to HIV treatments may worsen in the near future if not addressed urgently.

He said resistance to HIV treatment is caused by not adhering to recommended doses due to lack of awareness of the dangers of doing so.

He also indicated that some Kenyans with HIV fail to take the drugs regularly due to stigma associated with the disease, while others may not respond to available treatment if they are infected with HIV virus that is already resistant to treatment.

“Not taking medication as recommended allows the virus to multiply, which increases the risk that it could mutate and produce drug-resistant HIV. We need to enhance awareness and action to tackle this issue before it is too late,” he said.

860,000 Kenyans with HIV receive free anti-retro viral treatment out of the one million people who have been confirmed to have the condition. However, it is estimated that a total of 1.6 million Kenyans have HIV.

Dr Ahmed Kalebi, Honorary Lecturer at the University of Nairobi and a founder member of HIV Clinicians Society of Kenya, says the programme to provide HIV treatment to Kenyans should be strengthened to prevent cases of drug resistance.

Dr Kalebi, who is also CEO of Pathologists Lancet Kenya laboratories, suggests Kenyans taking HIV drugs should be closely monitored through testing of drug resistance, viral loads, toxicity, adherence to drugs, and preventing stock outs of the crucial medicines.

“We need robust investments for surveillance of how Kenyans respond to HIV treatment. This is even more necessary with plans by the government to scale up treatment to all Kenyans with the virus as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO),” he says.

He adds: “There is also need to address structural and social barriers to accessing treatment faced by key populations, such as criminalisation, discrimination and stigma”.

Dr Kalebi says scaling up of anti-retro viral treatment provision without proper safeguards may accelerate development of drug resistance in the country.

In September, WHO issued new recommendations calling on Kenya and other countries to give HIV drugs to all persons diagnosed with the virus, even if their immune systems are still strong, unlike in the past.

This prompted the government to announce plans to expand HIV treatment in the country in line with the new recommendations.

Immediate treatment of HIV as recommended by the new guidelines not only prolongs the lives of those with the virus, but also reduces the risks of them transmitting the disease to others.